The Old Country

The Old Country

Oil on birch panel, 2010, 4"x 5"

sold

Todays painting is another 3-D construction. I like to employ my friend, one point perspective in cases like these. My thought is to try and make the image look as if it disappears into the distance but have it physically be the closest thing to the tip of your nose as you are looking at it. I've done a couple of these little expieriments and am doing larger versions of ones I like. So far there are really two different ways to approach this problem. You can lay the image over the construction, as I did here, and it will look compressed as you look straight at it, it will always look slightly wrong. Or you can paint it so that as you look straight at it, it looks fine or normal, but the moment you move it distorts. I've done it both ways and they are a lot of fun to make and look at. The image here is of a street in the old country as my mother used to call it, and I imagined it as a place where Grandpa might of first caught a glimpse of Grandma.

#21

Sunday Softball #8

Sunday Softball #8

Oil on birch panel, 2010, 5"x 7"

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Todays painting is another one with very strong light, this time (not unlike the last one I suppose) I am trying to compose for drama and a sense of action. No one is really doing anything but I'm trying to instill as much drama and anticipation in that nothing as possible. I think it would be a drama-tically different painting if my friend Loretta wasn't in the painting on the left there. Did you notice my very clever play on words there? Thank you very much...

#20

Dean At The Park

Dean At The Park

Oil on birch panel, 2010, 5"x 7"

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Todays painting is really a study in silhouettes and the effects light has when blocked, it doesn't give up that easy! It makes skin glow, it illuminates the hair on your arms. By denying it direct access it seems to over-compensate with intensity. I've always liked seeing the details in something that at first glance just seems a monolithic shadow, it seems more mysterious and maybe more revealing at the same time. I also like the interaction between the man on the right and the dog sizing each other up.

#19

Sunday Softball #7 (Yer out Craig!)

Sunday Softball #7 (Yer out Craig!)

Oil on birch panel, 2010, 5"x 7"

sold

Todays painting is of Craig happily sliding into second base unaware that he is totally out, (just because you make the effort to slide doesn't make you safe!) and being demanded off the field. I really like my composition here and the juicy colors and my brushwork is pretty loose which I am liking alot. Ya, (patting myself on the back) pretty good effort today. Best of all is that Craig was out, and that retired the side.

#18

London Street

London Street

Oil on birch panel, 2010, 5"x 7"

sold

Todays painting is another that I plan on putting in my show @Motor City Brewery tomorrow night. One point perspective does something to me, I find it thrilling. As far as perspectives go, it is rather one dimensional (ha-ha), but I think it does the best job of drawing a viewer in and creating the illusion of space in a flat panel. I like art that tries to take you into a place, with the artist as magician, or inventor, or mad scientist. One point perspective, its been around for centuries, its literally old as dirt, but I love it and use it all the time to help try and create some magic.

#17

The Long Goodbye

The Long Goodbye

Oil on birch panel, 2010, 4"x 5.5"

sold

Todays painting is a 3-D construction, consisting of a flat street scene behind two panels that come together in the middle forming a triangle. Parts of the two panels are cut out to help form the windows and people from the point of view from inside a car, and also offering a glimpse of the street scene behind. These kinds of constructions are meant to be looked at and explored from all angles and they offer all kinds of problems when it comes time to photograph them. Anyway, my thoughts on putting this together are, first I thought of the triangular configuration then had the idea that wouldn't it be nice if two figures were looking at each other through the painting, giving them a special kind of connection.

#16

Sunday Softball #6

Sunday Softball #6

Oil on birch panel, 2010, 5"x 7"

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Todays painting is of Rock n Roll Softball, a Sunday tradition for the past five years at least. It is made up of a loose collection of friends, mostly musicians (thus the name) and is a great excuse to drink beer, and yell "Sports!" from people who really aren't accustomed to physical activity.

#15

American Bad Ass

American Bad Ass

Oil on birch panel, 2010, 5"x 7"

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Todays painting is of a Navaho Indian, "The First People", Tobadzischini, (war god) a participant in the Yebechai dance- a nine day ritual combining ritual and medicine still practiced today. This guy is rocking a skirt and a purse as a war god, he is a bad ass. I have an immense amount of respect for all the native peoples all over the world, but especially here in America. Their culture and land and way of life were all stolen or destoyed but they are perservering although with many troubles. I always wished the people of the world upon discovering one another could have slowed down a little and evolved and assimilated their cultures, I think we would have been better off.

#14

Ahhhgggh! I'm swamped (not the title)

Side A: Autumn Blues, Side B: Autumn's Child

Charcoal and pastel on paper, 2009, 25"x 43"

sold

I'm too busy to post a painting today. I'm getting ready for a one night show next Wednesday night at the Motor City Brewery. Here is something I made for my show at the Cass Cafe last Christmas.

Belle Isle Lagoon

Belle Isle Lagoon

Oil on birch panel, 2010, 5"x 7"

sold

Todays painting is of the lagoon on Belle Isle, an island park in the Detroit river. This view is across from the Detroit Yacht Club. I liked it because there was no real sign of people and I like to imagine scenes like this being from 200, or 300 years ago when just the Native Americans like the Ottawa, Huron or Wyandot tribes lived in the area. The park was actually filled to the gills with people barbequeing and cruising, enjoying their Sunday. Belle Isle was designed as a park by Frederick Law Olmstead the same designer of Central Park in NYC. Like all things in Detroit its seen some better days, but its still a great place to go grab some nature in the city.

#13

no daily painting today, figuring out how to use Ebay intead

Dream Weaver, Flip-O-Tron

Dymtro version, prototype

sold

Due to unforeseen activity, I don't have a daily painting today, but here is a mutoscope I made for the Nocturnal Translation show which opened Friday May 14th @ Public Pool in Hamtramck. I actually thought I was inventing a turnable flipbook but as it turns out this technology and idea have been around since the 1890's at least, thats about as far off the mark as one can get. Oh, well. This particular box is portraying a dream a friend had involving a local folk artist, Dymtro Syzlak, creator of Hamtramck Disneyland. Next time I'll have figured out the photo stills and operating mechanism a little better. The dream involves driving up the Lodge freeway at a highspeed while getting a phone call and trying to dechiper Dymtro's thick accent.

Emerald Forest

Emerald Forest

Oil on birch panel, 2010, 5"x 7"

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Todays painting is another from the past few days of wet weather. I'm back in Chandler Park looking at the heavily wooded area with reflections cast in the flooded grass. I'm feeling the effects from last nights art opening at Public Pool in Hamtramck, Mi., and I think it loosened up my brush work a little. I like it. I hope you do too.

#12

Flooded Field

Flooded Field

Oil on birch panel, 2010, 5"x 7"

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Todays painting is a landscape of a flooded Chandler Park near our house. We got a lot of rain over the past few days and the ground is saturated. The rain has also greened everything up to the point that almost doesn't look natural. I love Chandler Park, it has open fields, wooded areas and even a hill for sledding or rolling down in the summer.

#11

Best Friends

Best Friends

Oil on birch panel, 2010, 5"x 7"

sold

Todays painting is an image from the photographer/filmmaker Gordon Parks. He shot this in black and white at the Fredrick Douglas housing project in NYC in 1942. The picture just inspires me and makes me happy so I did my own version of it. Two kids, best friends, on a beautiful day, making the most of things.

#10

Cannon Crew

Cannon Crew

Oil on linen/panel, 2010, 5"x 7"

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This painting was my first attempt at painting in this 5"x 7" format, then I set it aside for awhile. I thought I would try it out in black and white and see what happens. This painting is of three soldiers from WWII firing off a cannon. I really liked the intensity of this moment, the shooting of the cannon and with it, all that it implies (the shell is going to land somewhere...), with its fierce explosion causing two members of this team to shout, while the third merely just tries to hang on to his bucket. Humanity puts people in strange situations at times...

#9

The Red Cloak

The Red Cloak

Oil on birch panel, 2010, 5"x 7"

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Todays painting is of a young lady stopping to pose for a picture, while on some sort of bicycle trip. It was from a batch of "found photos" a friend has posted. The original photo was in black and white, and I painted it how I thought things might look on that day, who knows how long ago. Judging from the photograph this was probably taken in the 1940's or early fifties. What other color could a person paint a cloak on a young lady taking a trip? Red is the only option.

#8

Boxers

Boxers

Oil on birch panel, 2010, 5"x 7"

sold

Todays painting is of two boxers duking it out. Compositionally, I like the way the ref is striding between the two fighters, also I like how high older men like him, back in the forties and fifties wore their pants. A friend of mine boxed and it is one brutal sport. It takes amazing skill and discipline but also seems very sad as the only way to make something of your self in some circumstances is to beat the crap out of somebody else. Some people claim to love the beauty in the skill involved, but I suspect they also want a bloodbath. Personally, I love the beauty in the skill involved (read into that what you want). Boxing today, just isn't as important as it was 25 years ago and beyond. I suspect it has something to do with the gun as the great equalizer, the skill of fighting isn't something you have to respect or admire anymore.

#7

Three Musicians

Three Musicians

Oil on birch panel, 2010, 5"x7"

sold

Todays painting is of three musicians, playing at a county fair perhaps. I like how they are playing just for the pleasure of it, no one is watching. I think they all have a sweet disposition and what ever they are playing, I'm sure is nice and "Old Timey".

#6

Road Trip Woman

Road Trip Woman

Oil on birch panel, 2010, 7"x 5"

sold

Todays painting is a young woman on the road. The license plate says the car is from Kansas, which makes me think of Bonnie and Clyde. Why? I don't really know. I don't know a thing about Bonnie and Clyde other than the fact that they looked an awful lot like Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway. I have to remember, not every young, beautiful woman from this era was in a gang.

#5

Riot Squad!

Riot Squad!

Oil on birch panel, 2010, 5"x7"

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Todays painting is of a riot squad in France. I don't know what the situation was that needed the police but I sure love the colors that were created by the tear gas (I'm assuming thats what that is). I also like the way the colors ribbon across the picture, kind of like the French flag.

#4

Sad Song Singer

Sad Song Singer

Oil on birch panel, 2010, 5"x 7"

sold

Todays painting is of a musician and some friends listening to a few jams this guy has up his sleeve. I wish I could hear what he's playing I bet its a heartbreaker.

#3

Girl On Motorcycle

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Girl On Motorcycle

Oil on birch panel, 2010, 5"x7"

sold

This daily painting is of a young lady probably from the 1930s or 40s cruising a nice little stretch of road. I don't normally think of women and motorcycles together, especially from that time period. I suspect this young lady was quite a self reliant free spirited soul.

#2

Union Soldier

Union Soldier

Oil on birch panel, 2010, 5"x7"

sold

This is my first daily painting post ever!

It is a union soldier in the American southwest. On a roadtrip through New Mexico about 15 years ago I took the photo that was used as the reference for the painting of this landscape. I like the way the soldier is bearing down on whatever it is he is after. Personally, I hope he misses the shot.

#1